Hundreds of people gathered in Portland on Monday morning to take part in the city's 34th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast Celebration.

The event's keynote speaker was former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank.The retired liberal lawmaker, who has a home in Ogunquit, speculated about what injustices Dr. King would be fighting if he were alive today.

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Frank talked about what he called "intellectual voter suppression." He explained: "It's from the people who, out of their anger and their passion, announce that voting isn't worth anything. The people who say, 'You know what? Big money runs politics. They only listen to the big shots. Why bother to vote?' Well, I will tell you this: They don't listen to people who don't vote."

The former Congressman also told the crowd that an assault on labor unions is to blame for the income inequality problem in our country.

Frank railed against America's continuing military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.He said, "Martin Luther King would have thought that was a terrible idea and would have spoken out against it… would have spoken out against it because of its futility and because it takes resources that we could use that we desperately need here at home to improve the quality of our lives and wastes them in an effort that's not going to work."

The past year was a tumultuous one in terms of national race relations. America experienced massive protests following incidents of white police officers killing unarmed black men. The phrase "black lives matter" has become a rallying cry.

Local NAACP President Rachel Talbot Ross told the breakfast attendees, "There is no 'us versus them.' There's only 'we.' You matter. You matter." Congressman Frank drew a distinction between Dr. King's protests and some of the protests we've seen in the past year.

Last week, protesters blocked a Massachusetts highway during rush-hour traffic.Frank says King's work was much more serious and thoughtful than what Frank labeled "acting out."

He told us, "I don't think his name should be invoked for that kind of disruption and dangerous activity."

Frank and other speakers at Monday morning's breakfast hammered home the message that one of the best ways to bring about change is to show up on Election Day to vote.